Michigan Supreme Court rules Trump can remain on ballot

The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for Donald J. Trump’s appearance on the state’s primary ballot, a victory for the former president in a battleground state.

The state’s highest court upheld an appeals court decision that found the former president could appear on the ballot despite questions about his eligibility to hold elected office due to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election to make.

The decision in Michigan followed a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled in a 4-3 opinion on December 19 that Mr. Trump should be removed from the 2024 Republican primary for his role in the January 6 attack on the stands. The US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

The question of Mr. Trump’s eligibility is widely expected to be answered by the U.S. Supreme Court. More than 30 states have filed some form of challenge to Trump’s eligibility, but many have already been rejected.

The challengers’ arguments are based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies anyone from holding federal office if “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it.

A lower court judge ruled in Mr Trump’s favor earlier in the case on the eligibility of the ballots. Judge James Robert Redford of the Michigan Court of Claims ruled in November that disqualifying a candidate under the 14th Amendment was a political issue, not a matter for the courts. A lower court in Colorado had also ruled in Trump’s favor before the Supreme Court there took up the case.

Judge Redford also ruled that Michigan’s top election official does not have the sole authority to exclude Trump from the ballot. Free Speech for People, a liberal-leaning group that filed the lawsuit, appealed the ruling and asked the state Supreme Court to hear the case on an expedited schedule.

Michigan Secretary of State and Democrat Jocelyn Benson reiterated the call for a quick decision, citing looming deadlines for printing paper ballots. She wrote that a ruling was needed before December 29 “to ensure an orderly election process.”

Jan. 13 is the deadline for mailing primary ballots to military and overseas voters; Absentee voters’ ballots must be printed by January 18. The state’s presidential election primary is scheduled for February 27.

Mitch Smith reporting contributed.